As reported by the Globe & Mail
, Toronto-based GreenMantra Recycling Technologies
is working hard to solve Ontario's plastic problem (in 2009 alone Ontario used 235,000 tonnes of plastic packaging and recycled less than a quarter of it). Founded 7 years ago by entrepreneur Pushkar Kumar, GreenMantra diverts plastic from our landfills by converting it into useful waxes and oils.
"Used plastic is, to put it mildly, plentiful. According to Stewardship Ontario, the province alone used 235,000 tonnes of plastic packaging in 2009. Only about a quarter of that was recovered."
"Noting this fact, about seven years ago, Mr. Kumar decided to look for a solution. A metallurgical and materials engineer, he worked with his father, a chemical engineer, on the project.They reasoned that all plastics are polymers made of molecules found in many other materials. Once broken down, those polymers could be converted into other things. But what could they convert the plastic into? And what kind of process would accomplish it?"
"The Kumars eventually found what seemed the ideal answer to the first question. Synthetic waxes are usually a byproduct of oil refining, but refiners can make more money especially in today's world of $100-a-barrel oil from creating gasoline than from waxes, which are used to make floor wax, shoe polish and car waxes."
"So they have been altering their processes to produce less wax. That has reduced supplies, Mr. Kumar explains, which is driving wax prices up."
That creates an opportunity. GreenMantra won't compete for raw materials with existing suppliers and will have lower upfront costs than they do, he says. Does that mean GreenMantra can produce the products for less cost than established producers? Mr. Kumar says he isn't sure whether he can undercut their prices, but he is sure he can compete and, he says, "at least I can guarantee that the prices are stable."
"The challenge, explains Lyle Clarke, vice-president of innovation and blue box at Stewardship Ontario, is efficiently recovering and realizing value from the many different grades of plastics consumers put out for recycling. GreenMantra, Mr. Clarke says, is "going at the heart of the challenge in the system."
"Mr. Kumar says his process can handle a variety of plastics, including bags and bottles. Perhaps most important, he can process mixed loads of material, potentially eliminating the time-consuming job of sorting, since existing recycling processes are mainly limited to a particular type of plastic."
"A key to making this work was finding a catalyst to drive the chemical process that breaks up the molecules. Loads of plastics are bound to contain impurities bits of metal, glass or other materials and GreenMantra needed a process that would continue working despite those impurities. The company found a catalyst a couple of years ago and has been refining its methods since.The beauty of GreenMantra's business model is its simplicity, argues James Sbrolla, entrepreneur-in-residence at the MaRS Discovery District, the Toronto technology incubator that has helped Mr. Kumar build his company. "They're not trying to change the world. They're picking a very simple niche that they can do well at."
read full story here
original source Globe & Mail